Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan will perform at the opening ceremony of the Indian Premier League alongside fellow actor Katrina Kaif and U.S. rapper Pitbull.

The April 2 opening ceremony for the annual Twenty20 cricket league will, oddly enough, take place at a soccer ground, the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata.

A statement on the Indian Premier League’s website could hardly contain the excitement: “This will be the grandest sporting celebration that India has ever seen.”

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So much for the celebrations that greeted India’s World Cup victory in 2011, or the opening ceremony to the otherwise troubled 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi.

This year’s IPL opening ceremony will feature, the statement said, “flying drummers, Chinese percussionists, awesome fireworks, and some of the biggest film-stars in the country, including Shah Rukh Khan, the country’s foremost Superstar.”

Who could argue against awesome fireworks? Fireworks are awesome, awesome fireworks are even more awesome.

And who better than the “country’s foremost Superstar” to lead the festivities, a man who was banned from Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium after a scuffle with security guards during the IPL last year.

Good job the opening ceremony is taking place in a soccer stadium in Kolkata.

“When Pitbull was told that he is being invited to perform at the opening ceremony of the Pepsi IPL 2013, and SRK would also be performing as well, he agreed to come within minutes,” the statement said, citing a source.

The statement didn’t reveal the name of this source.

The opening ceremony is being organized by Red Chillies Entertainment Pvt. Ltd., a company founded by Mr. Khan, co-owner of the Kolkata Knight Riders.

Last year, Kolkata Knight Riders won the IPL for the first time. Mr. Khan seems to play a valuable role, according to the team’s website: “The KKR squad members swear by the atmosphere of honesty and strong human values that he (Mr. Khan) has created in his own franchise.”

Pitbull is yet to update his official website with the news that he’ll be taking part in the grandest sporting ceremony India has ever seen. Perhaps he’s too excited to type. The latest gig announcement is from March 14, revealing that Pitbull will be performing at Nickelodeon’s Kids’ Choice Awards.

Let’s not forget Katrina Kaif. She’ll be performing in Kolkata for the first time, apparently.

The IPL tournament proper gets underway a day after the opening ceremony, conveniently giving everyone 24 hours to catch their breath and talk about awesome fireworks before any cricket is actually played.

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